


Certain Death

by Monstradamus



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Hurt No Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-16 01:04:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16944069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monstradamus/pseuds/Monstradamus
Summary: An AU-ish story that is a retelling of Chris L'Etoile's "Burn," but if different decisions were made. What would happen if it was Gideon who had gone after Chandra instead of Nissa? One thing is certain, there will be a major character death involved, but who will it be? Read to find out. Two-Shot





	1. Death

**Author's Note:**

> **Author's Note:** So, this is another challenge story. This time it's for an independent challenge, much like the story It Had to be You. However, I'm not going to tell you too much about this challenge because that would spoil a lot of the surprises to come in this story. Just know that major character death is a part of this, so you've been warned.
> 
> Now, what I can tell you is that this story is slightly AU-ish. It is an AU in the sense that I'm taking a canon story and saying, what would happen if a different decision was made? So, I'm taking one of my favorite Magic stories, Burn by Chris L'Etoile, and saying what would happen if one key decision went differently. What if Gideon went after Chandra instead of Nissa? Well, as I said in the description, character death will occur. So, who's going to die? Will Chandra give into her anger and burn herself to get rid of Baral? Will Gideon finally meet the attack he didn't see coming? Will Nissa fail at defending her friends? Well, read to find out.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Magic. All the characters, worlds, and fantastic ideas belong to WotC.

Nissa always had a way of keeping people steady. Chandra never thought about how much she needed that.

"Don't stop me," Chandra said, already feeling flames igniting on her fingertips. "I can't let him – "

All it took was one steady breath from Nissa. "I know. I'll stand with you."

Chandra was gone in a flash, a determined gleam in her eyes. Nissa gave her space, but she would follow her. Gideon, however, had other plans. He came shouting over the banister about an incoming attack. He was looking around for the rest of the Gatewatch. When he did not see Chandra, he knew there was trouble.

"You should have stopped her!" Gideon called, unsure why Nissa was not more worried about this.

"Why?" She asked this as though Gideon were the one confused as if what she had done were the most natural thing in the world.

Everything in him seemed to tighten. Chandra could not just go running off like that. Everything she was feeling right now, she would not think clearly. She would be killed for sure. She was playing right into Baral's hands. He could not let that happen. He had to do something.

"More gearhulks are approaching!" a voice called.

Damn! Baral was getting Chandra out of the way and the Consulate was hitting them from the other side. Everything was going according to Tezzeret's plans, and Gideon felt powerless to stop it.

"I'm going after her," he said resolutely. "Nissa, stay here and help them take care of the attack."

Nissa never concealed her confusion or insecurity about a situation. "But, I'm not…shouldn't you…I can't…"

He placed his hands on her shoulders but drew back quickly. He still remembered their talk back on Ravnica. Touch was something she was still getting used to.

"I'm not asking you to lead them," he said. "Just keep everyone safe. I know you can do that. You've survived on Zendikar. See to it that the renegades survive this."

She bit her lip but nodded. He heard a loud rumble just outside the wall. She was already summoning elementals to help. This could work, Gideon thought.

"I'll be back with Chandra," he said, running to catch up with her. "You can do this."

* * *

There were no words to describe Chandra's rage, only flames. Every time she saw an opening, she launched a ball of fire at Baral. He would pay. She would watch him burn and suffer as her father did. She had seen Baral's scarred face and his mangled arm. She had done that. She would do it again, and this time, she would not run.

"That's right, little monster," Baral taunted, "make a scene. Get angry. Tell me what your grand plan is. You going to burn me? Or maybe just kick and fight? That's all you know, little monster. I've already predicted your every move."

Eloquence was not Chandra's forte, especially not now. She shouted a curse that was more of a jumble of words, hurling more flames in his direction. But those flames were not as strong as before. She was running out of steam. More importantly, Baral was leading her to a place where there were very few things she could catch on fire. He was leading her into a trap. And it was when it was too late that she realized this.

She looked around her to see only a street filled with old stone buildings. It was a street long-abandoned, no doubt after the Consulate had cut off aether supply to it to funnel it to more "important" locations. Cornered in a place where she could no longer burn away any obstacles, Chandra was running short of options. However, a swinging blade that came nearly inches from her face gave her very little time to think on these options. The blade clipped the side of her gauntlet.

"Monsters like you don't belong here, Nalaar," Baral said, swinging at her again. "It was actually a welcome relief when you disappeared. In fact, I'd say it was a pleasure to torture your mother with the fact that you had died. Of course, in the years that you've been gone, I've had time to continue practicing my craft. I'd have given you a special cell for your torture and my amusement, but I've grown bored of you. It's time to end this."

"Funny," Chandra said. "I was thinking the same thing."

She parried the strike and tried to throw flames at his face. Maybe she could not find the fuel to keep her fires going, but she was sure as hell going to make it hard for him to get close to her.

Chandra knew that she could not rely solely on her powers, not when Baral did technically have the upper hand. So, she fought back the only other way she knew how. She saw an opening in his stance, and she threw herself at him. She heard something pop in her shoulder that was not supposed to, but she managed to knock him off his feet.

The two rolled about the ground for several seconds, kicking up dust in the abandoned alley as they fought. Chandra got in one or two solid punches before Baral could get his bearings again. When he did, there was no stopping him. He was not a captain of the Consulate's forces for nothing.

Baral swung several times, dizzying her with several blows to the head. She tried to dodge his swings but was finding it harder to concentrate with each one. Her head felt like a boulder now, especially when she was trying to get herself to move away. She also felt something wet and sticky just above her eyebrow.

"I killed your daddy, little monster," Baral said, his breath wheezing. He was not as young as he used to be. "And he was much smarter than you. You won't last another five minutes."

Chandra breathed, waiting for his next move, trying to stop the spinning sensation in her head. She felt as though her legs might give out at any second. She had to keep going. She had to fight back.

A light whoosh sound resounded through the air, and at first, she thought it was a stray thopter's wings. But when Baral fell to the side, clutching a bloody gash on the side of his cheek, she figured out what it was. "Gids!" she called ecstatically.

Gideon whipped his surral away from the scuffle but kept his eyes on Baral. "Come on," he said. "We have to go back. There's an ambush, and…"

He did not finish as they both heard the whirring sounds of several thopter blades. Three manned vehicles lowered around the alley. Out of the former of her eye, Chandra saw Baral starting to get up.

"Chandra, we need to…" She could tell Gideon was already thinking up a battle strategy. Any other time, this would have been a welcome idea.

"No time," Chandra called, already taking a running start at Baral. "You take care of the thopters. I've got him."

Gideon turned to the three thopters, starting to move in closer. There just seemed to be no end to trouble Chandra could get herself into.

* * *

Nissa did not know what Gideon intended for her to do to fight this ambush, but she had to think of something. There were three gearhulks coming from the right, two from the left. Jace and Liliana had gone after the three, and she knew they could handle their own. She had to trust them. Still, she could make sure they were safe. The ground rumbled at her feet and a giant elemental, made out of the streets of Kaladesh rose up beside her. "Protect them," was her only command to it before she left to handle the threat from the left.

The two gearhulks were smashing through the renegade's barricades with ease, leaving people scattered everywhere. Nissa took only seconds to take in the elements of her surroundings. Her ears flicked behind her as she heard a group of Consulate soldiers approaching. To her right, she saw Yahenni. "I need you to help take care of them," she called, pointing to the approaching soldiers.

The aetherborn nodded. "Of course, darling," they said with a hint of a smile. "A pleasure to."

Nissa was uncomfortable with Yahenni's abilities, but at least this would allow her to fully concentrate on the gearhulks. Though slow and lumbering, they were getting dangerously close. And those fists would surely smash more than just barricades.

As she concentrated, she could feel the aether streams buzzing in her head. She just had to bend the flow a little. Vines twisted and grew up, encircling the legs of the enormous automaton, halting its motion. Nissa still willed them to grow, and they entwined up the entire body. With one swift motion, the vines pulled, tearing the gearhulk in two. One down.

She looked over to where Jace and Liliana were. They too had at least taken one out, or at least, Liliana had. She could see no signs of Jace, which she figured was done purposefully. He usually made himself invisible to find a good vantage point.

She heard a shout from behind her, and she prepared to fight back when she saw a Consulate guard coming at her, blade drawn. However, a gleaming metal contraption tackled him from the side. Saheeli had a smug grin on her face. She shook her head. "Consulate is always so predictable, no ingenuity."

Nissa only gave her a tight smile before turning her attention back to the gearhulk.

* * *

Chandra was gone before Gideon could stop her, and three thopters were already trying to move in to catch up to her. He sighed. "Sometimes, Chandra…" he muttered to himself as he unfurled his surral once more.

The first one never saw it coming. The metal ribbons of the surral struck the axle of the propeller, throwing it off balance. Its pilot jumped out just before it careened into the side of an abandoned building. Despite everything that was going on with the Consulate, Gideon was glad for that. It was one thing to kill Eldrazi spawn, but he was not so sure he could live with killing ordinary citizens.

Completely unarmed, the pilot turned tail and ran. Baral must have not planned for this kind of resistance. He was counting on Chandra to not think. Gideon had to find her before she did something she would regret or would cause her to get hurt. He ran to catch up with the other thopters.

They had formed a tight formation through the streets, closing in on the gap between them and Chandra. If Gideon was right, Baral was leading her straight into a trap where the thopters would finish her off. He picked up the pace and leaped for the nearest one. He grabbed the edge and swung himself into the cockpit, startling the pilot. He grabbed him by the shoulder and pitched him out the side, and the pilot rolled into a heap on the street blinking blearily.

Now in command of the vehicle, Gideon might be able to do more to help. The problem was, he did not know how to drive it.

* * *

Nissa was already drawing forth more vines, and they began to entwine around the second gearhulk. With even more of her will, they bloomed and sprouted further, embedded deeply into the gearhulk's frame. She was just about to let the growing plants explode the gearhulk from the inside out when something hit her from behind and knocked her to the ground. She rolled over just as a young elf was scrambling to get off of her.

"Sorry, sorry…" Shadowblayde muttered. "I didn't see you. I just…"

Nissa ignored the girl's ramblings as she looked over Shadowblayde's shoulder to see some Consulate soldiers right on her tail. She bolted up, grabbing the elf's arm. "No time," she said, beginning to draw the sword inside her staff.

The soldiers had their bladed spears aimed at the two of them, and Nissa wasted no time going in for the attack. She may have been lightly armed, but she knew these soldiers had never faced Joraga fighting techniques. She had enough of an advantage. With quick and precise swings, she was able to get them to give her distance. Their heavy spears were far too slow to move against her light sword. That did not stop them from trying though.

A few grow bold enough to take more than just some defensive swings against her, and Nissa found that they were not going to be easy opponents. Once, one of them was fast enough to take a low sweep across her stomach. Her cloak was torn and she could see a small trickle of blood, but it was not enough to stop her. But, it appeared she did not need to. A mechanical bug, followed by several others, started swarming the soldiers. Shadowblayde was right behind her, a big grin on her face.

"Thanks a bunch. These guards had me on the run, and I didn't have enough time to get my bugs together. You really saved my skin."

More roots sprung at Nissa's feet, rising into the air. She grabbed Shadowblayde, not sure how much more she could take of the girl's ongoing conversation. "Come on," she said. "We need to get out of here before they decide to go back to fighting a living enemy."

Shadowblayde's eyes lit up as she followed Nissa, walking on the roots. "Oh, wow! You're that new friend of White Cat's. I think the codename for you is supposed to be…"

She only stopped talking to let out a gasp as she nearly lost her footing. Nissa pulled her to her feet. "Please stop talking and focus," Nissa said firmly. This one would never have made it on Zendikar.

* * *

It was slow moving, but Gideon eventually got the thopter to move. The controls were a little sensitive, and he had never driven a vehicle this advanced before. Still, it was slightly faster than trying to keep up with Chandra on foot.

He was also starting to see more signs of where Chandra had been. Several scorch marks adorned the walls of the old buildings. Though, as she looked at them, he knew there was a problem. The marks were looking faded and haphazard. The random burns could be easily explained: when Chandra was angry, she did not care where she was aiming. But the fact that they were starting to fade out dictated one thing: her powers were running low. She was either exhausted from her efforts or hurt. He needed to move faster.

At some point, there were no longer any scorch marks, but he could see evidence of Baral trailing her, meaning she was on the run and in serious trouble. Gideon jumped out of the thopter, not sure how to make it stop and let it crash to the ground. He started scouring the area. She had to be close.

Gideon spotted her on a nearby rooftop, clutching her shoulder, and barely able to stand. He had to get to her before it was too late. Baral had her trapped, and he hated to think what she would do when cornered. Gideon began to scale the old building, grabbing onto any uneven stone or windowsills within his reach. As he climbed higher, he could start to hear Baral taunting her.

"You've got nowhere to run, little monster. There's nothing you can do. I will make you suffer."

"No…" he heard Chandra say hoarsely. "There is something I can do, something I can always do. I can burn."

Gideon felt everything inside him sink. He knew what she was about to do, and he could not let it happen. He would not allow Chandra to do this. He could not lose her. He pulled himself up to the edge of the roof, his last bit of energy used. "Chandra, no!" he shouted, just before he lost his own grip and started to fall.

* * *

They were quickly being overwhelmed. Nissa knew they were fighting a losing battle at this point. She and Shadowblayde lost the first batch of soldiers, but more seemed to come at them from every direction. She had separated from Shadowblayde, telling her to alert Jace and Liliana that they needed to retreat. In the meantime, Nissa tried to herd as many of the renegades out of there as she could. They could not afford to lose any more lives.

She ducked behind a corner and had to stop to catch her breath. Something was not right. For the first time all day, she looked down and noticed the light trail of blood at her feet, her blood, she was starting to realize. She placed a hand over where the soldier had just nicked her, and her eyes widened when she realized that the small cut was a lot worse than she thought. Either they had cut her deeper than she thought, or she had made it worse in all her exertions. Either way, all the adrenaline and heat of battle had made her not notice just what sort of a situation she was in.

Nissa did not have much time to try and bind her wound when she heard the flitter of at least half a dozen thopters just ahead. Waiting at the head of them was Dovin. His voice echoed through the speaker on the top of the thopter. "Come quietly now, Miss Nissa, and no further harm shall come to you or the renegades."

She clutched her arm around her middle, hoping that he could not see her pain. "You betrayed us," she shouted.

Dovin scoffed. "How was I supposed to know that you harbored a fugitive in your midst? Again, I offer you a peaceful way out. You are gravely injured. What do you hope to do? Are you going to so kindly 'ask' the land to help save you?"

"No," she said, "but I can ask it to help protect my friends."

Fresh vines shot up, entangling Dovin's thopter. He jostled and struggled to get out. But just before Nissa's vision started to go dark, she could have sworn those vines caught on fire.

Chandra smirked as she watched Dovin leap out of the burning thopter. She was still worn from her fight with Baral, but Gideon had at least taken care of him for the time being. He would go back to the Consulate with some news. Dovin would too.

"Keep running, you Consulate pencil pusher!" she shouted, after him. "That's what I call some teamwork back there, right Nissa? Nissa?"

She looked behind her to see the animist laying crumpled in a heap in the alley. She never moved.

"Nissa!" she shouted, running to her.

She was still breathing, but barely. Chandra tried to roll her onto her back and into her lap. She gasped when she saw her own arm covered in blood. That was when she saw the wound. Chandra moved her carefully, grimacing when she felt something solid trying to slide out of the gash. Nissa moaned a little, and Chandra did her best to keep whatever it was from falling out.

Chandra tried to think quickly. She just had to come up with a plan. She started to ignite her hand. "Um, maybe I can cauterize it," she said.

She felt Gideon's hand grasp her shoulder as he joined them. "That would only hurt her more," he said, his voice getting caught in his throat. "I've…I've seen wounds like this before. She's lost too much blood as it is."

Chandra knew exactly what he meant. She knew that he was right. He had seen more of the harsh realities of war. He knew what he was talking about. But Chandra could not will herself to believe it.

"No, no, there has to be something we can do. Gids, you wouldn't let me die. We can't let her."

"That's different, Chandra. You weren't as hurt. She's…"

Nissa started to stir. Her body was shaking and felt like a wilted plant in Chandra's arms. This was far different than when she lost consciousness back on Innistrad. No matter what, Nissa always felt strong and resilient, more than she probably ever gave herself credit for. Now, she felt so…small. Chandra knew this would not work, but she refused to believe it.

"Gideon's right," Nissa said between breaths. "Don't worry…you'll be fine."

"No, I won't! Nissa, please don't give up. We can help you."

Nissa shook her head, knowing it was pointless to argue with Chandra. "Tell me about that river."

"The what?"

"You said…when you were in my mind, it felt like floating on a river. Tell me about it."

"Nissa, please. You aren't going to die. I won't let you."

"Do you know what it felt like for me?"

Chandra sighed. "What was it like?"

"It was like the sun, like being a plant warmed by the sun. Sometimes, it burned so brightly it hurt. Sometimes it was like a slow warmth that could melt a winter thaw. Chandra, you are that sun. There are so many other souls who need your warmth."

She was fighting back tears. This was really it. Chandra cradled her head and said softly, "Do you still have it in you to planeswalk one last time? At least then you could be on Zendikar. You could be home."

There was no response from her.

"Nissa? Nissa, no, no, not yet. Please, just…I never told you…I…I…"

Anything else she intended to say was lost in her muffled sobs as she held Nissa close. She heard the shift in the air, but it could not drown out the ringing in her ears. Only when a rope ladder bumped her back did she finally look to see Ajani overhead on the Heart of Kiran.

Gideon pulled Chandra to her feet. "We have to get out of here. You go first." Through her tear-blurred vision, she could see his eyes were red with tears.

"But, what about…?"

"I'll carry her b… I'll carry her," Gideon said, unable to let himself say that last word on his lips.

He pushed Chandra toward the ladder and put Nissa over his shoulder, as he no longer had to worry about causing her pain. Chandra reluctantly pulled herself up the ladder. Her one friend who meant everything to her was gone. She was her rock. Nissa always had a way of keeping people steady.


	2. Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the battle, Chandra's conflicted by feelings of grief, anger, and sadness. Hopefully, she can make peace with the loss of her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _So, in a sense, this second part in this two-part story does also fulfill a challenge of sorts. However, it's nothing official. But, I must thank Onyx076 for coming up with this idea. Basically, they suggested an idea in which an author must write an AU in which a different decision was made in canon events and that this change led to the death of a major character, and followed the aftermath of these results. The example they used was let's say that in Beauty and the Beast, Gaston ends up killing the Beast instead of the other way around. How does the rest of the story end now? What happens to Belle? What happens to Gaston._
> 
> _So, now that the first part of this two-shot set up that AU situation, now we get to look at the after-effects. So, Onyx076, this one is for you._

"Where were you guys?" Chandra demanded incredulously.

The Gatewatch had regrouped in the hull of the _Heart of Kiran_ , planning what their next move would be. The Consulate had just taken the aether hub, and they were now short one member. They were at their wits end on what to do next.

Jace tried his best to keep his expression steady. Right now, he was being bombarded with Chandra's angry, grieving thoughts, Gideon's disbelief, and Liliana's cold indifference. He was certain that was just a good front on her part. He cleared his throat. "We were trying to take care of problems of our own. They attacked us from both sides. The Consulate knew how to divide us."

"Oh, so good that you had bigger problems," Chandra said sarcastically. "While you were busy hiding like a coward, Nissa died!"

Gideon placed a hand on her shoulder. "Chandra…" he pleaded, his voice weary.

She could not even look at him. The shoulder of his shirt was still stained with dried blood from when he had carried Nissa's on board the skyship. Honestly, she could not look at any of them.

Jace still tried to defend his reasoning. "It wasn't hiding. I placed myself in the most strategic position to send mental commands and keep everyone aware of what was going on. By that time, Nissa was out of my range."

Chandra would not let up. Her eyes were still red from crying, but she did not think she had it in her to cry anymore. "But you were supposed to stick together. Now…now she's gone."

"I could do something about that," Liliana said flippantly, "but you wouldn't like the results."

Chandra lunged at her like a wild animal, only letting out a feral roar in response. Gideon grabbed her and held her by the waist before she could reach Liliana, who only barely flinched.

"Don't you ever say that!" Chandra shouted. "Don't you…"

"Chandra, enough," Gideon said. "You need to get a grip right now, and turning on each other isn't going to solve anything." He gave a stern look to Liliana. "I'm sure that Liliana didn't mean it. We all have different ways of coping with loss."

Chandra had finally slowed down to only shaking in Gideon's arms. He knew she was hurting in a way no one could fix, or rather that the only one who could fix it was no longer alive. He let Chandra go and she only stood stiffly, looking as though she were millions of miles away. He sighed. "What do we do now? The Consulate is closing in, meaning Tezzeret will have enough aether to power the matter transporter soon enough. Dovin Baan cannot see reason and continues to serve him."

"We make them pay," Chandra said. "I don't care how we do it. We destroy them."

"I understand what you're feeling right now, but we can't stoop to their level. We're talking about real people here."

"It doesn't matter. They deserve it."

She turned around and was ready to leave the room. She did not care if they listened to her. They would pay. She saw Ajani waiting in the doorway. He had kept his distance from the group, likely deciding that they needed to plan on their own. His single blue eye regarded her curiously. The leonine took a solemn breath. "I too once lost someone close to me. She was the greatest friend I ever knew. A vengeful god she trusted took her life. I could not live with that. I want to make that god pay for his actions. I did everything in my power to stop him, to change the world that had given him power. It did not bring my friend back, little candle."

"I know I can't bring her back," Chandra said, her tone biting. "I just want to make them hurt more than I do."

She went through the door, leaving her friends and Ajani behind. Ajani shook his head. She tried not to look as she crossed the next room, but she knew it was hard not to. Nissa had been laid on a table near the middle of the room. The wound had been stitched up, and she looked like she was merely in her usual trance, connecting with a world.

"I should have been there," she said, guilt choking up in her throat. "This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gone running off and Gids had to get me."

She moved a stray hair of Nissa's back into place, her fingers lingering on the edge of one of her Joraga tattoos. "I can't lose you," she said. "I just can't."

She heard a door open behind her. Her mother looked at her sympathetically. "I heard you caused a bit of a scene," Pia said.

Chandra sniffed. "Yeah, what else is new?" she said, pretending to laugh.

She came over and put an arm around Chandra protectively. "I know it's hard right now. She was…special to you?"

Pia emphasized that word carefully. Chandra caught on to the implied meaning. "Yeah, well…kinda. I mean, I don't know how she felt about me."

Her mother held her, letting Chandra's head rest on her chest. "I'm sure you meant a lot to her," she said. "If she meant that much to you, she had to have known."

New tears formed in Chandra's eyes. "Why couldn't it have been different?" she said. "I should have stayed and fought with you and the renegades, with her."

She felt her mother sigh deeply. "We cannot bury ourselves in what if's, Chandra. Anything could have happened, and you don't know if you could have stopped this. When I found out your father was gone and when I thought I had lost you too, I wanted to blame myself. Every time I thought about it, I always had a new idea for what I should have done differently. But every time I thought about how I could have changed things, I realized that I couldn't. What had happened had happened, and I needed to make my life meaningful to honor you and your father's memory, rather than sitting around wondering how things could have been."

This did not exactly put Chandra into any better spirits. "It'll just take some time," Pia finished. "No one's expecting you to accept this overnight."

* * *

It had taken several weeks. It was a slow-going effort, and both sides took many losses, but eventually the Consulate relented. Between Chandra blowing the matter transporter to unrecognizable bits and Liliana forcing Tezzeret to retreat, the Consulate realized that some kind of compromise had to be reached. Things were slowly getting better on Kaladesh.

Chandra had gone just outside the city limits of Ghirapur. It had been a long, long while since she had been out in the rolling hills and curved valleys of the countryside. It was quiet here, and aside from a few fields where the farmers worked, there was not a soul around. Chandra sat across from a small sapling, its branches already starting to curl and twist to the flow of the aether streams.

"So, I hope you've had some time to get used to this place," Chandra said, her eyes focusing on the ground right in front of the tree. She came to this spot every day, when she could, but as the last few standoffs with the Consulate took up a lot of her time, it had been a while. "I know it's not Zendikar," she continued, "but it's the closest place I could find. It's quiet, so not all that noise in the city, and it's probably the closest you can get to nature. Some of the other elves who live out of the city like it, so I hope you do too."

A light wind rustled through the sapling.

"Yahenni says hi," she continued. "They would have come themselves, but they're, you know, not exactly feeling so good anymore. Yahenni's having their penultimate party tonight. Look, I don't know if what aetherborn go through is similar to what it's like when we die, but if you see them, let them know you're there."

She sighed, resting her hands in her lap. "Look, it's not easy for me to say, Nissa, but I don't think I'm going to get another chance to. I like you…liked you…a lot. Ever since that time when we touched minds, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I know that, you were still getting used to people, to us, but I hoped that maybe, one day, you could've liked me that way too. Gosh, this is probably the most I've ever said to you."

Her heart sunk, thinking that. It had taken her until now, when Nissa could not answer back to tell her how she felt? Why did she have to be so foolish?

"I wish I could have said all this earlier," she said. "Maybe if I hadn't been such an idiot and just talked to you, we wouldn't have even ended up on Kaladesh. I don't know, it was always hard to talk to you when you would look at me with those intense green eyes. But, if I hadn't been so afraid, we wouldn't be here right now, like this."

Another thought crossed her mind. "None of this would have happened at all if I hadn't convinced you to come with us. You wanted to stay on Zendikar, to help it regrow. You could've still been there, happy, being this powerful guardian for the world. I mean, if you had stayed there long enough, you could have even had a family of your own."

Without me, her brain finished. Maybe Nissa really would have been better off without her, but she couldn't let this person who had connected with her on a level no one could understand just disappear from her life forever, and yet that is just what had happened.

She had also doomed Zendikar, Chandra thought. Nissa once told her she was probably the last of her people on this world: the animists. And now that last one was gone, and it was all her fault.

She felt a big hand on her back. "Nissa came with us of her own volition," Gideon said. "She was able to make her own decisions. You didn't force her."

Chandra stood up, dusting off her knees. "Maybe," she answered.

The two stood in awkward silence for several seconds. Gideon eventually tried to direct the conversation to his purpose. "We're leaving for Amonkhet tomorrow," he said. "Do you have everything you need?"

Chandra shook her head. "I'm not going with you guys," she said. "I just…I just can't right now."

"Not go?" Gideon said, hearing this for the first time. "What do you mean you're not going? Chandra, we need you. If Bolas…"

"I'm just not, okay? I'M not ready. Besides, Ajani told you that this probably wasn't a good idea."

He looked exhausted. Chandra could tell this plan to go stop Bolas at the source was weighing heavily on him.

"We have to try," he said. "It's already going to be hard enough without Nissa's help. Without you…it would be suicide. Chandra, the three of us can't handle it alone."

Chandra crossed her arms. "You don't have to go either. No one's making you."

He shook his head. "You know I can't. This is bigger than all of us, and we have to do something."

"Well, I don't," she said, her voice raising. "All I want is a little time to grieve, Gids. But you and the others keep pretending nothing's happened. Well, I can't do that. I can't pretend to feel nothing!"

Gideon took a step back. Chandra's emotional state had been all over the place lately, and often, he had to tread carefully. "No one is telling you not to grieve. It's been hard on all of us. I know what you're going through. Back on Theros…" He paused, unsure if he even knew where to begin explaining. Yet again, he had failed those closest to him. "The point is, Chandra, staying here and doing nothing won't help you heal. We have to keep fighting for the safety of the multiverse. Don't you think she would have wanted that?"

Chandra looked back at the sapling. "Look, I'm not going to just sit around and mope. But let me do it my way."

If there was one thing Gideon learned about Chandra, it was when to quit with her. "Fine, he said, an icy chill gripping him. They did not stand a chance on Amonkhet now. "But if you change your mind, you know where to find us."

She heard him walk away. Closing her eyes, she needed to think. He was right. Just staying here did nothing. But what would she do with this time? She thought back to that moment on the glyph, watching Nissa plant the seeds of the four trees, taking that first step towards helping Zendikar heal.

 _"I don't just want to watch,"_ she had said. _"I want to keep guard. Someone should be around. To protect it. To help it along. I can do that. I should do that."_

That was what she had said before Chandra talked her into coming with them. She understood Nissa had decided to let go, to let Zendikar heal without her for a while, but that was under the assumption that she would eventually come back.

"You were right," Chandra said. "Someone needs to be there to protect it. I'm just sorry it couldn't be you, Nissa. But, I guess I can try. Maybe you can keep watch over Kaladesh for me?"

She looked back at the sapling, giving one last half-smile. In a light glow of embers, Chandra walked away from the plane. When her feet touched Zendikar, and she looked around what little green there still was on this world, she took in a deep breath. "This is your world, Nissa, not mine. Don't get too mad if I mess this up."

**Author's Note:**

>  **Author's Notes:** Okay, so now that we're at the end, I can tell you what the parameters of this challenge were. This was written for Andorxor's Character Death Challenge, which had the following rules:
> 
> 1\. The story must end with the same sentence it started with
> 
> 2\. The first and last sentence must have the same character in it
> 
> 3\. That character must die during the story
> 
> 4\. No time-travel or dimension travel, clones, raising the death or technical dead for some seconds
> 
> So, there you have it. This first chapter in what will be a two-shot fulfills this challenge. Another chapter is on the way, which will pick up from this point and fulfill the requirements of another challenge. Don't hate me too much for killing off a good character.


End file.
